PlayStation Network Honcho Susan Panico -- In the Firing Line

by Harold Goldberg, 8/6/2008 6:29 PM

(Page 3 of 4)

Crispy Gamer: I hear what you say about quality over quantity. But do you think that PlayStation Network games will ever come out with more frequency than they do now?

Panico: I think it's possible. It depends what the team's goal is. We are fairly new. We've only been around for a year and a half. I think the development community is still figuring out how to take advantage of content delivery and what the delivery method does for game making.

Crispy Gamer: What do you mean?

Panico: One of the things you'll probably see in the near future is more episodic-type content. It will be either in graphic novel storytelling or in games themselves. Some of them will probably introduce all new genres all together.

Crispy Gamer: We see all these numbers about downloads. Right now, what do people seek out on the Network most?

Panico: We see a pretty good split across the board regarding multiplayer, downloadable games, downloadable content. Plus, we just introduced a TV show called "Qore." It's our first foray into original programming.

Crispy Gamer: You know, the thing I hate most about the PlayStation Network is "Qore."

Panico: Really? I would love for you to tell me why.

Crispy Gamer: I was really disappointed with it. The woman who hosts seemed not ready for prime time. I thought the writing was bad: I mean, who wrote we'll have lots of "surprising surprises"? It seemed illiterate. I just felt whoever was doing the canned interviews was so low-key that it passed on to the developers who answer them. They just did not seem excited about their own games.

Panico: I hear you. We're ramping up on our original programming and bringing an executive producer on board, someone who has a lot of TV, film, commercial and video experience. We were very proud of the achievement in terms of the product that we delivered in that we delivered high-definition plus interactivity in a downloadable format.

Crispy Gamer: So what should this show be?

Panico: I think where we want to take it is to be a lot more lifestyle and entertainment-oriented. We want to be the "TRL" of PlayStation. I definitely think there's a lot of room to grow with "Qore." You'll see improvement. Stick with it, because I think you'll be really happy.

Crispy Gamer: Tell us about the new Ratchet & Clank.

Panico: Well, it will be downloadable for $14.99. It's taking something people love and that's familiar. It will broaden what's on the Network.

Crispy Gamer: How did that come about? Why Ratchet & Clank and not something else?

Panico: I think there are two things. It helps bridge the time lapse between the franchises, so it gives people more of a taste of one of the franchises they love without having to wait two years for a PS3 game to be developed. It also introduces people to the franchise by giving them something that's a lot quicker to play. Since it's not a full game, they can get introduced to the characters and the gameplay really fast. I'm not really sure how long the game is; we can check. But I think it's like, four or five hours.

« Prev  1  2  3  4  Next »  

Responses

  • Unbound
    Unbound

    Aug 8 2008 1:25PM

    Interesting interview. Loved the interviewer's honesty about their opinion of "Qore". The publicist chiming in was funny. It had the feeling of legal council at a deposition - "My client won't be talking about that." Is it common for interview subjects to have a publicist hovering over them?

Leave a Reply

You must be logged in to comment. Log In or Register now!
Filed Under: PSN Pundit, PlayStation, PSN, Sony, PlayStation Network, PS3, PlayStation 3
  • Bookmark It:
  • Add This Page to Digg
  • Add This Page to Del.ico.us
  • Add This Page to StumbleUpon
  • Add This Page to Technorati
  • Add This Page to Slashdot

» The Game Trust » Columns RSS Feed

Eye Candy

Most Active Groups

  • WTF DO We Do Now? (384 Topics)

    451 Members | Updated: 10/14/2008
    WTF DO We Do Now? If you are not sure what group to be in and don't like heavy r...
  • Super Smash Bros. Brawl (218 Topics)

    341 Members | Updated: 10/14/2008
    A forum for discussion of the game to end all games, Super Smash Bros. Brawl. T...
  • .;~*] gamer girls [*~:. (108 Topics)

    197 Members | Updated: 10/14/2008
    we are all out there. lets get to know each other (now more moderated than befo...
  • Graveyard Shift (50 Topics)

    75 Members | Updated: 10/14/2008
    For those of us more active at night,to talk about whatever .
  • Ryches trivia corner (22 Topics)

    23 Members | Updated: 10/14/2008
    Answer questions for fun.You get the answer right you get to ask the next questi...

© Crispy Gamer, Inc. All rights reserved.

By continuing past this page, and by your continued use of this site, you agree to be bound by and abide by the User Agreement.